Well, it's hard to understand the exact situation when you do not have any idea what might have taken place via email and pms.
From my perspective, Don placed an order to have a $6,600 cue built by Blud. During that time, Blud's wife became ill. This caused a major setback not only by delaying his customer's orders, but also setting him back finacially. Don was understandable and agreed that the cue would take longer than expected. After an extended period of time, Don received the cue and one of the shafts became warped. Blud agreed to make Don another shaft. Don received the new shaft as well as a ball cleaner free of charge. However, the ringwork did not match the original ringwork.
Now this is where I get confused. Don became upset and perhaps annoyed with Blud having made two mistakes. He decided to get a third party cuemaker to correct the ringwork on the replacement Blud sent. Blud became upset with Don having another cuemaker fix the mistake he made on the ringwork. He offered Don to send the shaft back with his covering shipping charge and he guaranteed he was have another shafted that matched within 2-3 weeks. Don persisted on him returning the warped shaft and having the third party cuemaker fix the mistake Blud made.
Now I am not taking sides here. I know $6,600 is a lot of money to spend on a cue. But I also know Blud's wife became very ill and needed attention. Noone knew this situation would occur beforehand. I think we all can agree that Don agreed that the cue would take longer than expected. I also think we can all agree that Blud made a mistake replacing the warped shaft. If I was Don, I would probably be upset having to go through getting the shaft replaced, then having the new replacement shaft turn out with the incorrect ringwork. If I was Blud, I would probably be upset having a third party cuemaker fix a mistake I had made. Afterall, he wants his customers to be 100% satisfied.
It seems Blud is willing to make Don a new shaft with the correct ringwork, but he needs the original shaft so that he can be positive the shafts match. Don wants Blud to send his the warped shaft which Blud does not have. Now, in my perspective, Blud doesn't have the original warped shaft with the correct ringwork and Don isn't willing to send the shaft with the correct ringwork back to Blud. Maybe he thinks Blud will not return the shafts or make another mistake. I honestly do not think Blud would risk his reputation over such an situation. But that's just my opinion.
Now if Don wants to continue and let the third party cuemaker correct the mistake with the ringwork, why does he need the warped shaft? I can understand Blud wanting the original shaft and I can also understand Don being upset with the mistakes. But why does Don need the warped shaft after Blud has already sent him a replacement even though it had the incorrect ringwork? That leaves me confused. Maybe so the third party cuemaker can use the ringwork to correct the ringwork on the replacement Blud sent? If that's the case, I don't see a problem with returning the original shaft to Blud and letting him correct the mistake he made.
To clear it all up, I am not taking sides. I know Don is a standup guy and I also know Blud seems to be a cuemaker who stands behind his customers. I can understand Don being upset with the mistakes especially with so much money involved. I also understand Blud has had some very hard times recently and is possibly under a lot of stress. He has admitted to making the mistakes, but he also seems upset with a third party cuemaker being involved and wants to correct the mistake himself. I think sending Don a free ball cleaner was a kind gesture to show he made a mistake and was sorry. But he didn't realize he used the incorrect ringwork on the replacement shaft. Now, I don't know who has been blackmailing who or what has been said via email and pms, so I can't really state my opinion about that. It seems to me, that there is a misunderstanding and it's ruining what used to be a good friendship. Perhaps a phone call discussing the situation would help clear some of it up. I'll like to see this whole situation leave both parties in good spirits and that the two of you keep that friendship.
